Salvation of Lost Souls
by Andrin
Summary: Naruto’s tale is a sad one. Yet when a strange being appear on the night of his birth, that might change. He now grow up in a strange world dimensions away from his home. Yet darkness lies everywhere, and he was chosen to end it. NarutoXTales of Symphonia
1. Prologue

Amidst a sea of seemingly flowing purple energy a flash of brilliant light was seen. The light originated from a room on the highest floor of an ancient castle that was floating within the sea of purple. The room was hexagonal, built from stone more ancient than even the purple world surrounding it. Into the walls was carved runes of a language long forgotten, and statues of angelic beings stood in each corner, hands raised as if in prayer.

In the middle of the room a sword of intricate design was floating. The blade of the sword was brimming with barely contained power, and every now and then small bolts of violet energy would strike out from it.

Behind the sword stood a man. He wore a strange set of clothes that fitted closely to his pale skin. The cloth was extremely soft and dyed a white closely resembling freshly fallen snow. It was richly embroidered in gold, and was slightly opened up at the front, showing off a strange jewel embedded in the man's chest, just below the collar-bone. The long, golden locks of his hair fell down his back and hid the twin holes in his outfit where his shoulder blades were situated. Out of those holes erupted two large wings sparkling in every colour of the rainbow, seemingly made out of the same energy as the one the sword in front of the man was emitting. His face was regal and currently held no emotion, yet his one visible eye was furrowed shut in concentration, the other hidden by a lock of his hair.

A smaller flash of light, and a voice sounded from behind the man.

"Lord Yggdrasill."

The man, now identified as Yggdrasill, opened his eyes, showing icy blue irises. He turned to the one that had interrupted him, and raised an eyebrow at the sight that met him.

The person standing before him was garbed in a red and midnight-blue outfit, this one also embroidered with gold, with a cape that split further down thrown over his shoulders. His cyan coloured hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, save for a stray lock that fell over his right eye, partly covering it. Wings similar to that of Yggdrasill's sprouted from his back, yet these wings only glowed a light blue.

"Yuan? I never thought that I would hear you of all people address me by my title. It matters little though. I assume that you have something to tell me, so do so quickly as I have little time left before I must take my leave."

Yuan simply smirked a bit at the hidden surprise in his leader's voice and decided to comply with his wishes.

"I am merely here to report that your personal project is apparently ready. As for my sudden politeness, I simply saw you in deep concentration and wanted to make sure that you wouldn't strike me down for calling you by name before you knew who I was."

Yuan's smirk widened under his report, and the last part was said with a small wink, something that he knew would aggravate the man before him to no end.

Yggdrasill was again surprised by his subordinate's actions. Yet this time it was not a pleasant one. Yuan's attitude annoyed him greatly, yet he forced himself to keep his calm and respond to the report given him.

"Is that so? I will have to see that for myself when I return, yet if what you say is true then 3000 years of work have finally come to fruition. Is there anything else? If not, you may take your leave."

Yuan simply shook his head, bowed slightly and turned around to leave. Just when he was about to step onto the rune on the floor that was the only transportation to and from the room he stopped, turned around slightly, and opened his mouth to speak once again.

"Actually, I have a question. Could you perhaps explain this project of yours?"

Yggdrasill didn't bother to turn around to face the blue-haired man once again, yet just as Yuan assumed that he wouldn't get an answer, he spoke.

"If all goes well you will see for yourself soon enough. Though, if it would please you, I can say that it might be able to awaken _her._"

Slightly shocked, Yuan looked up at the blonde in front of him, yet said man made a wave with his hand and Yuan, knowing a dismissal when he saw one, bowed slightly once again and walked onto the rune of transportation in front of him.

Pleased that he once again was alone in the room, and that his patience with his project had apparently paid off, Yggdrasill once again returned to what he had been doing before the interruption.

'_Are you certain that this 'disturbance' is true, and that it will appear where you said?'_

The voice that answered came from everywhere and nowhere. It was deep and mighty, yet held a tone of reverence toward the blue-eyed man in the room.

'**Yes, and we must make haste, or it might be too late. Do not forget that time flows differently in that dimension. Even I cannot predict how it will flow when you arrive.'**

'_Very well. Let us leave then.'_

With that, Yggdrasill grasped the floating sword by its handle and swung it in a wide and gracious arc. Where the sword had struck, a distortion slowly appeared. It grew larger and larger, until it tore a rift in the fabric of the dimensions.

Without even a seconds hesitation, Yggdrasill strode through the newly-made portal and vanished, the rift closing behind him.

* * *

Smoke, screams and the coppery scent of freshly shed blood was the first thing that assaulted Yggdrasill's senses the minute he arrived at his destination. The second thing he noticed was the gigantic nine-tailed fox that was currently tearing through the population of the village far below him. 

Not even giving a second thought to the fact that he was lucky that the rift had appeared far up in the sky so that he wouldn't have to bother directly with the massacre taking place below him, Yggdrasill immediately focused upon the nine-tailed monstrosity.

'_A demon-lord here? But I closed off Niflheim completely 3500 years ago.'_ was the first though running through his head. He had even fought with his particular demon before. If his memory served him correctly, it was one of the high lords of Niflheim, and the commander of the demons that chose to take animal form. How it had appeared here he had no idea.

Sighing, he prepared to deal with the problem at hand when a large surge of power caused him to halter. Granted, it was nothing compared to his own, and the power itself was weaker than mana, yet for a human --for that was what had caused it-- it was great. His interest piqued, Yggdrasill flew down lower to see exactly who had caused the surge.

He was met with quite a bizarre sight. Upon a toad as large as a small mountain stood a tall blonde man dressed in a flowing white coat. He was glaring at the nine-tailed beast in front of him, and seemed to have put his hands in a strange sign, possibly this world's way of casting a spell.

What really drew Yggdrasill's attention though, was what was taking form behind the man. The creature --for there was no better way to describe it-- that appeared looked demonic, yet Yggdrasill immediately felt that it originated from this realm. It was surrounded by an aura of power. Power that was close to his own level.

He decided to wait and see what were to happen next.

'**The disturbance. It is near, I can feel it.'**

Yggdrasill snapped his attention toward the sword in his hand, frowned, and asked the voice where it was.

'**I am not sure, but it will take a large part in what is about to happen to the demon.'**

With a small nod, Yggdrasill turned his attention back to the battlefield below.

By now, the strange creature had pierced the man's body with one of its hands, which was currently reaching for the raging demon down below.

As soon as the hand reached the demon a great flash of light engulfed everything on the battlefield.

His eyes resistant to things such as that, Yggdrasill kept his gaze on the spot where the enormous demon was before the flash, and, as the light died out, he saw that no trace was left of the beast, and that the toad had seemingly vanished as well. Intrigued, he went to fly closer to the battlefield when a power that dwarfed anything that had happened earlier exploded out from somewhere on the mountain behind the village.

Slightly shocked, as this power was --even though it was but for a second-- greater than his own, Yggdrasill immediately teleported to the location from where the power had originated.

What he arrived to was not what he had expected. A small baby boy, not even three hours old, lied in the middle of a large array of strange runes. He was wailing in pain, and Yggdrasill watched interested as six small lines formed on the boy's cheeks at the same time as a spiral-formed mark appeared on the baby's belly. An aura of red, malevolent mana surrounded the small child, but was slowly drawn into the spiral mark.

'_To think that a human would be able to do something like this. Actually sealing away a demon into another being.'_

'**That child is the disturbance. I can feel it clearly now, as there is no longer a fluctuation of mana to disrupt my powers.'**

'_Are you serious? A human?'_

This was bad. All he had heard about this 'disturbance' was that it would play a large part in the future of the worlds. And now it turned out to be a filthy human. No, he would have nothing to do with this. He would leave the boy to rot here. He prepared to leave when the voice spoke to him once again.

'**What are you doing? You have to make sure that the boy is safe! He will-'**

'_-Will betray us like everyone else of that disgusting race. No, I will have nothing to do with that filthy, inferior being!'_

Yggdrasill was getting frustrated. He didn't care about what would happen to this world. He looked down at the sword in his hand once again.

'**I cannot allow that.'**

'_Eternal Sword or not, you WILL know your place, and I will not have anything to do with that filthy human.'_

Had it been possible, the Eternal Sword would've sighed. Its master could be so horribly stubborn sometimes. However, now was not a time to ponder about things like that, so it gathered its powers in one last attempt to hinder its master from making a horrible mistake.

Yggdrasill was once again preparing to leave when his mind was assaulted with bits and pieces of something. When he cleared his head enough to 'watch' the things taking place within his mind, he saw that it was the life of the baby in front of him. It was horrible. In fact, it made the things done to half-elves pale in comparison. Yet through it all, the boy simply smiled and apologised, even though he didn't know what he had done wrong. The pure selflessness and compassion of the boy caused Yggdrasill's heart, which had frozen a long time ago, to crack. It wasn't much, but it still happened, and Yggdrasill came upon a startling thought. The boy was just like _her._ Always thinking about others and doing his all to protect them. Even their deaths were similar; both sacrificing themselves to protect those they cared for from a traitor they once called close friend.

Then came what would happen should the boy die.

Meteors fell from the sky, crashing into the ground below. Hellish portals appeared everywhere, spewing smoke and sulphur high into the air. From the portals erupted legions of demons of every size and shape. The demons spread across the world, slaughtering anything they came across, transforming the world to a withered husk, any trace of life lost to the wind. The worst part though, was that this wasn't the world he was currently in. No, it was his home world, and nothing would survive the demonic onslaught. He would lose _her_ once again.

Then, as swiftly as they came, the pictures vanished from his head.

His mind made up, Yggdrasill walked up to the now sleeping child and picked him up. He could feel the boy's heartbeat against his chest, as well as the strange power of this world surging through the small body. He looked at the blanket that the child was partly wrapped in. On one side of the blanket, something was embroidered. After a closer look, he saw that it was a name, written in a language that was unnervingly similar to that of the ninja village of Tethe'alla. The village was called Mizuho or something similar to that if his memory served him right. It took a small while to decipher the words, as he was not too proficient in the language spoken by humans of any sort, but he did, and figured that what he read was the name of the boy.

'_Namikaze Naruto? A peculiar name to be sure, yet strangely fitting. If the maelstrom of tonight's events are anything to go by.'_

'**As glad I am to see that you have finally seen reason, I need to let you know that time is short. The demon is currently trying to influence the mind of the boy, thereby significantly decreasing his mental capabilities, in a try to take over his mind. The only thing I know of that may prevent that from happening is your newly finished project.'**

'_Are you implying that I should give up 3000 years of research on this human?'_

'**Yes I am. I showed you what would happen should the boy die. That was because the demon was released again, and with nothing to stop it this time, it broke the seal on Niflheim. Your project would be able to purify the taint of the demon from the boy, thus preventing that.'**

'_I see. Then I guess there is no other way. Very well, take us back to Derris-Kharlan so that I can place the project on the boy then.'_

'**There is one more thing. The boy must not grow up amongst those who dwell within Derris-Kharlan. Not only would that allow the demon to gain information on us, but it would also be a risk to the boy. He would need compassion for the purification process to succeed, and that would be impossible should he live within Derris-Kharlan.'**

'_Then what would you have me do?'_

'**Place him with the village you were thinking of earlier. It is the one that is closest to this world in traditions and way of life, and thus it would not inflict with the boy's instincts.'**

'_Instincts? I am afraid that I cannot see why instincts should be a problem.'_

'**Me showing you his life had consequences. The life he would've had is now permanently embedded within his subconscious. This is good and bad. It is good because it will allow him to be the same person he would've been, and not be influenced by other humans, and bad because should his upbringing conflict too much with his subconscious, he would eventually lose his sanity, something that would all but break the seal on the demon.'**

Not bothering to respond, Yggdrasill simply nodded toward the Eternal Sword and turned around to prepare to open a portal back to Derris-Kharlan. Just as he was to cut through the dimensional wall, a silvery glint caught his eye. He stopped mid-swing and took a better look at the thing that had caught his eye. It was a silvery pendant, lying just beside the seal array that Naruto had been placed within.

His interest piqued, Yggdrasill picked it up and, after one glance at what was written on it, placed it around Naruto's neck. He might despise humans, but even he would not deny a newborn the only thing that remained of its parents.

With that, he yet again prepared to cut through the dimensions. The cut was swift and precise, and the rift opened a lot faster than the first one he had opened that night. He immediately walked through the rift, holding Naruto tight against his body, not out of compassion, but to eliminate the risk of dropping the boy when between the dimensions. It was due to this though, that he could feel the changes taking place within the small body of the baby when it was exposed to the high amounts of mana surging both from the Eternal Sword and the nether surrounding them.

Had Yggdrasill looked back when he entered the rift though, he would've seen the door to the sealing room open and the visage of an elderly man standing in the open doorway. Yet, he did not and so he believed that his meddling with that world had gone unnoticed.

The last thing that the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha remembered after opening the door to the seal room where most of the sealing on the Kyuubi no Youko had taken place was a brilliant flash of light, before he fell unconscious to the floor.

* * *

Two hours later, a newborn boy was found abandoned by the edge of the forest surrounding the village of Mizuho, home of the proud ninja of the Igaguri clan. The only things of note on the baby was the blanket he was wrapped in, made out of a seemingly expensive cloth and embroidered with the boy's name, a silvery pendant of intricate design, and a small, cerulean blue orb embedded in the boy's chest, just below the collar-bone.

* * *

Well, here is the prologue of my second story. It's a bit late, but I had almost no time to write during Christmas, and I didn't want to publish this until chapter one was at least halfway written. 

I have a lot of ideas for this fic, and it will deviate quite a bit from the story in the game. I'll also try to write it in a way that will let you understand what is happening even if you haven't played Tales of Symphonia (though I really recommend it to those that like RPG's, it's a really great game).

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I might or might not answer. And I'd really like to know what you think about this story, or if you can find any grammatical errors etc.

For those of you who've read my other fic, A Matter of Time, I'm currently writing chapter four, and will upload it as soon as I can, though it is progressing quite slowly.

Thanks for reading!

/Andrin


	2. Far From Our World

Namikaze Naruto was mildly annoyed.

He had just been sleeping comfortably when he was rudely awakened by something slightly heavy jumping up and down on his chest.

He groggily opened his eyes, only to be met by something that was furry and very close to his face. Giving out a slight yelp of surprise, he flew out of his bed and took on a guarded stance, scanning his bedroom for the intruder that had infiltrated it.

Said 'intruder' was currently rolling around on the until recently occupied bed, yipping with laughter.

Naruto turned back to the bed at the sound, and was met with the scene of a strange fox-like creature, with soft golden brown fur that turned turquoise at the ears and at its three fluffy tails, tails that were currently entangled in the bed sheets. The jingling sound of a small bell reached Naruto's ears each time the creature moved, and his eyes were unconsciously drawn toward the silver bell tied around the creature's neck.

"Corrine! What have I told you about barging into my room when I'm sleeping?!" he half yelled, half laughed at the small creature, who by now had entangled itself completely into his bed sheets. The creature called Corrine immediately froze after Naruto's yell, and slowly turned its head toward him.

"S-sorry Naruto." came the sheepish reply, "But we're supposed to leave soon, so I had to wake you up."

Naruto felt the last of his tiredness leave him at those words. He had completely forgotten that today was the day they would be leaving Mizuho for the mission the King had asked them to perform. And if Corrine was here to wake him then-

"IF YOU'RE NOT OUT HERE FULLY PREPARED WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MINUTES THEN BEST FRIEND OR NOT I'LL KICK YOUR ASS TO GAORACCHIA FOREST AND LEAVE YOU THERE FOR THE WOLVES!"

-then Sheena wasn't far away, and by the sound of it, she was rather miffed.

Naruto sighed, drew a hand through his blonde unruly hair, and proceeded to dress. At least he had had the foresight to pack everything he would need for the mission weeks ahead, so all he had to do was put on his clothes --namely a deep blue kimono with a white nagajuban underneath that he allowed to stay slightly open at the front as to not cover the strange gem that had been sitting in the skin below his collar-bone since his birth, a white obi, a deep blue hakama, white tabi and a pair of zori he wove himself-- pick up the things he had packed, then leave.

As soon as he stepped out of his small house he was met with a very fuming Sheena. He absently noted that she had put on her usual mission gear, consisting of a black, skin-tight full-body suit, covered by her small light purple battle-kimono, which in turn was tied together with an excessively large pink obi that formed a large ribbon at the back. She had also put on her cloth boots and fingerless gloves and had as usual tied her raven hair up in a small, messy ponytail, only allowing a few strands to frame her face.

"Why good morning to you as well Sheena. I hope that the night has been pleasant." he said happily, completely ignoring the fact that Sheena was looking like she was ready to kill him.

Said girl just glared at him, and answered through gritted teeth.

"Why haven't you gotten up before now? And stop talking like that! It's really annoying!"

"I have no idea of what you could possibly be referring to. My manner of speaking is perfectly fine, and I am sure that many would agree with me on that." Naruto answered with a smile. Sheena felt her anger ebb away at her best friends antics, and she simply turned around with a small huff, trying to hide the small smile that threatened to spill across her face.

"Whatever. I've already talked to the Vice-chief, and the debriefing will be done at the port next to the Grand Tethe'alla bridge in three days, so we have to leave now." Sheena said in a try to change the subject back to more serious matters.

"I suppose there will be no time to say farewell to the villagers then?" came the reply from Naruto, a hint of amusement present in his voice. He knew how much Sheena disliked farewells, and couldn't help but tease her a bit more.

"Nope, now let's get going. The sooner we start, the sooner Tethe'alla will be saved, and we may finally get to go out of hiding." she answered, her annoyance at the blonde returning.

"Oh, how very noble of you to have such a selfless goal in mind." was the blonde's response, his voice lightly tinted with sarcasm.

"Seriously Sheena. I'm your friend, so stop lying to me and yourself. I know that what you really want is to make up for what happened ten years ago, and while the thought is good you need to stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault, and those few villagers that think it was aren't worth trying to convince." he continued, voice softening at the end.

Sheena let out a small sigh at that. Naruto had always been good at reading her, especially if it was about anything linked to _that_ day. She purged those thoughts from her mind though. There was no room for past guilt in this mission, and she would not allow herself to become a hindrance.

"Ok," she began with another sigh, "you got me. Now could we get going? We cannot be late for the meeting, or our transport will leave."

It was a rather pathetic attempt to change the subject, but Naruto chose not to push it. The event ten years ago was a rather touchy subject for her, and while she tried to put on a strong front, he knew that Sheena still blamed herself for what happened that day. He was sure that if he hadn't been there for her all this time there was a slight chance that she might have become suicidal. Too much suppressed guilt could do that to someone.

"Sure." he said instead, complying with her change of subject. "But what of Corrine? You know how much he dislikes Gaoracchia."

"I have already dismissed him to his own plane. I will call for him when we're safely in Sylvarant." was her reply. They had started walking now, following the small road away from the village. The road was almost exclusively used by the farmers, as the ninja were more inclined to travel through the trees that reached the south-eastern side of the village. Not only did this allow them to constantly practise their skill at travelling through rough terrain, but it was also a much faster way of travel.

Yet, despite of Sheena's urging, they knew that they were in no hurry, and so they chose to travel by road, enjoying the sight of all of the village's fields in full bloom. It would seem as if the harvest would be bountiful this year.

'_I have to remember to ask the Vice-chief if my theory about redirecting the flow of mana from a prosperous field to a more barren one in order to maximise the amount of crops that can be grown each year was effective when we return.'_ Naruto mused absently.

He had no idea where he got the idea from, but he had figured that if you used the excessive mana that weren't needed in one of the more flourishing fields to stimulate the earth in those where crops had a hard time growing, it would lead to a drastic increase in harvest, all without a negative impact on nature. He was rather proud of the idea, and hoped that it was at least being tested.

Knowing the Vice-chief, he had likely tried it out right away, only saying that the idea was his. Naruto had no problem with this though. Should the Vice-chief say that the idea came from Naruto, it would likely be hard for the farmers to accept it. He was only fourteen after all, and even the people of Mizuho, who prided in the trust and closeness that all villagers shared with one another, would have a hard time believing a theory made up by someone who had yet to reach adulthood.

No, it would be much better if the Vice-Chief took the credit for the idea. It would allow things to progress more smoothly, and besides, the idea was for the betterment of the village after all.

'_Still, I hope that the Vice-Chief at least places the theory under my name in the village records, should it work. It would be nice to get some recognition for my ideas every once in a while.'_

With that thought in mind, Naruto turned his gaze back to the road.

The ground had become rockier and more barren by now, and there was no farmland in sight anymore, having been replaced by grassy plains. The road went on and on in front of the two friends, twisting a little here and there to avoid having travellers being forced to climb the steep hills that littered the plains.

"How you can be fourteen yet still outtalk most of the village is way beyond me. Why are you even interested in all those strange languages you keep reading in those books you've crammed into your house?" Sheena said suddenly, in a try to start up a conversation, their journey would be quite long after all, so why not try to talk to pass the time.

"Oh, they're not 'crammed into my house' as you so eloquently put it. I've brought them all with me." came the reply from her blonde companion.

"Oh, and how is it that I can't see a giant sack on your back then? Now that I think about it, where is your packing?" Sheena asked, slightly annoyed that Naruto had even forgotten to pack anything. Luckily, Sheena had packed some extra, just in case, so there was probably no need for them to turn back toward Naruto's house.

There was no reply from the blonde, so she turned toward him to repeat the question only to get something flying toward her. She caught it, looked at what it was, then frowned. Before she could open her mouth to ask if Naruto was kidding, he told her what he had done.

"I have sealed all of my packing into that scroll. That way I can avoid having to carry too much equipment that restrict my movement, and I can easily take out or return anything I need to it."

Sheena gaped, caught herself, shook her head, then replied.

"Only you are crazy enough to get the idea of using guardian seals for storage. What is wrong with wing-packs?"

"Hmm… Well for one they are too expensive. Add to that the fact that they are technology, and technology, while wonderful, tend to malfunction. Besides, I find the design on wing-packs lacking."

"You don't use them because you think they're ugly? What kind of a reason is that?" she asked, ducking under a branch that was in the way. They had reached Gaoracchia forest by now, and the large grey trees cast long shadows over them, seemingly trying to claw at them, like a desperate predator trying to get hold of a fleeing prey.

"A quite good one, in my opinion. But could I have the scroll back now? I would like to carry it on my own, my precious books are inside after all." he asked and, after catching it when she threw it toward him, tucked the scroll away into the arm of his kimono.

"How does it even fit in there?" Sheena blurted out after seeing the way Naruto stuffed the scroll away.

"Another seal on the inside of the kimono of course. What else could it have been?" he answered absently. They always had conversations like this while travelling through Gaoracchia. It was their way of concentrating on something else than the stench of death and oppressive air that lingered all around them in the forest.

The trees of Gaoracchia had died a long time ago, yet they still stood, long and gnarled branches hindering nearly all light from reaching the ground. Long, thorny vines crept forth like snakes all across the ground and up the trees, seemingly trying to squeeze out any life that might be left in them. Many thought that the forest had died because of a curse brought upon it when a greedy thief had hidden the heirloom of an ancient line of demon-slayers somewhere among the ancient trees, yet scientists were more inclined to believe in the theory that the sacred trees of Ozette drew all of the mana from the surrounding soil in order to grow and sustain themselves, thereby causing all surrounding growth to wither and die.

All in all, the forest had a rather interesting history, at least in Naruto's opinion, yet he still never really felt at ease within it. It always felt like death itself had made the woods its home, as if an aura of dread and malice covered the forest like a large blanket. Naruto could even swear that he heard strange whispers from the shadows when he had to traverse the forest alone.

"Answers." Naruto said suddenly. After seeing that Sheena just looked at him oddly, he elaborated, "You asked me earlier why I study all those languages in my books. It's to find answers."

"Answers to what?" Sheena couldn't help but ask.

Naruto didn't answer, but she noticed that he had begun to finger the silver pendant he always wore. He had never told her where the pendant came from, but from the way he cared for it, it was obviously very important to him.

"It's getting close to midday. We should take a brief break." she said in a try to snap Naruto out of the clearly troubling thoughts he was having.

The blonde just nodded at her, then began preparing a small campfire. He hadn't had time to eat any breakfast and had gotten quite hungry during the walk.

After successfully lighting the campfire, he took out his storage scroll and, by channelling a small amount of mana into the appropriate seals, removed the ingredients and cooking utensils he'd need to prepare the meal.

Sheena, who had taken on the task of making sure that nothing would sneak up on them, could only stare slack-jawed at the ingenuity of her blue-eyed friend. The way he had utilised the seals on that scroll was brilliant! She couldn't help but sigh at his choice of food though.

"Ramen again? You'd think that after practically living of nothing but ramen for nearly twelve years, some kind of variation would be welcome."

Naruto had managed to get some water boiling by now, and was happily adding the ingredients into the boiling liquid.

"I will just ignore that comment as you have yet to actually taste my ramen and is therefore still unaware of its magnificence."

This could be mistaken as gloating from Naruto's part, but he was simply stating a fact. A lot of the villagers had praised him in his ability to cook the noodle-based dish, and he had been asked on several occasions if he couldn't just give up his studies and open a ramen stand instead. Naruto had just laughed and politely declined, instead stating that he would happily make it to anyone who wanted whenever he was free.

He had yet to succeed in convincing Sheena to try it however, something that irked him to no end.

"Hmph. The day I eat ramen is the day that someone says that the Angels are just half-elves in disguise." Sheena replied, smirking slightly at the small pout that had appeared on Naruto's face.

"Fine then. That just means that there'll be more left for me."

With that said, Naruto unsealed a bowl and a pair of chopsticks from the scroll, filled the bowl with the now fully cooked ramen, then began to eat.

* * *

It had taken them almost two more days of travel, but now the enormous silhouette of the Grand Tethe'alla bridge stood in front of them.

"Well, when exactly was the debriefing scheduled to occur?" Naruto asked in a slightly sarcastic tone. Apart from a few merchants that crossed over the bridge heading toward the Imperial capital, they had yet to see anyone.

"It was scheduled for midday on the twenty-fifth of July, which means that they should be here in just a few minutes." came Sheena's reply. She had barely finished speaking when they were suddenly surrounded by soldiers dressed in red and brown uniforms, with pieces of light armour placed over the more vulnerable parts of their bodies. They wore steel helmets that covered most of their heads, only allowing their ears, marking them as half-elves, to show.

The soldiers had barely blinked when, in an astounding show of speed, Naruto and Sheena had placed themselves behind the two soldiers closest to them, both holding a sharp tanto in front of the startled soldiers' throats.

"We are sorry to have startled you, ninja of Mizuho, but could you please release those two? We assure you that we do not intend you any harm."

This came from a large man standing behind the circle of soldiers. He was dressed in a grey robe that was richly embroidered. He didn't wear a helmet, or any type of visible armour, so they could clearly see his features. He had a stern, hard face that seemed to have been carved out of stone, yet his brown eyes were friendly and soft.

Sensing the honesty in the man's words, the two reluctantly released their hold on the soldiers, who quickly scrambled away from them with as much dignity as they could.

"Now," the man continued after seeing his subordinates' release, "Let's get down to business. My name is Botta, and I am the second-in-command within the Renegades. As I trust that you have already been given the required information about this mission, I will be brief. When you arrive in Sylvarant you will be almost entirely on your own. We have placed a seeking device on your target, which will allow you to locate her more quickly, but due to the Desian activity in that world, we can not help you further than that without risking to compromise the security of our organization."

"Desians?" Sheena asked.

"Oh, right. You do not know about the Desians. They are a group of half-elves similar to the Renegades and are currently in control of most of Sylvarant, directly or indirectly. Their main bases of operations are called 'human-ranches' and they should be avoided at all costs. There is more to tell you, but we do not have the time for that right now. The dimensional rift will be opened soon, and we can't maintain it for extended periods of time."

Botta made a motion to follow him, and both of them complied. He led them to two strange winged vehicles that were hovering a few decimetres off the ground. They seemed to be made out of some type of light metal, but when Naruto touched the wing of one of them, he noticed that it was made out of something that seemed to be similar to rubber.

"These are Rheairds. They are made out of a special material that allows them and their passengers to ride safely between dimensions. They have room for a driver and one passenger each, so you will be riding as passengers this time."

By now, the Renegade soldiers around them had finished with the preparations on the Rheairds and two of them had placed themselves on the driver's seats.

"Anything else will be handled on your arrival. I wish you the best of luck on your mission, the fate of Tethe'alla lies in your hands."

With those words, Botta turned away and left. A few Renegades helped Naruto and Sheena to get up on the Rheairds.

With a small roar, the engines on the two flying vehicles started up, and they took off, toward the legendary world of Sylvarant.

* * *

"Silence!"

A strong, yet calm voice called out to the chamber, instantly silencing the figures that had been arguing. The voice came from a figure sitting atop of a large throne on one end of the chamber. The figure was seemingly _cloaked_ in shadows, hiding any possible features from view. However, it surrounded itself with an aura of absolute power and respect, and a single eye could be seen behind the dark veil, its ice-blue gaze seemingly able to pierce through anyone, seeing their innermost thoughts without effort.

The chamber itself was ancient, yet still seemed to have been carved only days ago. It was made entirely out of blocks of a black stone, similar to obsidian, and it was completely covered by intricate symbols and runes, their use long forgotten by everyone apart from those currently inside. It was lit up by torches and chandeliers, their orange glow casting an ominous light upon the floor below. Two large, arched windows situated parallel to each other showed that the room was placed high atop an ancient castle built of the same stone as the room, and that it was surrounded by outlandish rock formations, some of them ending at the seemingly endless sea whose shores were close to the castle.

"Now," the figure upon the throne began, looking down upon the other occupants of the chamber, "It has come to my knowledge that one of the high-lords failed in its mission and has subsequently perished, is that correct?"

One of the figures in the room stepped up before the throne. It seemed to be a beautiful female, with long raven hair and eyes that appeared to be as green as a forest. She was slightly tanned, and wore a crimson robe that seemed to flow around her, as if caught in an invisible breeze.

"That is correct milord," she began, bowing down to the figure.

"However, we are not certain that it died, yet the alternative could be much more dire." she continued after seeing that it was clear for her to speak.

"And what is this other possibility then?" the cloaked figure enquired.

"We have detected that a gateway from _that world_ was opened at the time of the high-lord's disappearance, and a fluctuation of mana similar to that of the lord surrounding one of the inhabitants of the world that was to be used as the gateway. What is even more concerning is that the mana was seemingly being absorbed by said specimen."

"When did this occur then?"

The woman flinched slightly at being exposed to that penetrating gaze, but still continued with the report in a steady voice.

"We estimate it to have happened around fourteen years ago, yet we haven't been able to gain enough information until now, as the seal has hindered us from receiving most of the information concerning the event from the high-lord's subordinates."

"I see… Still, it is of little consequence. Had the plan succeeded the seal would be broken, yet that was not the only way to break it. The seal is weakening, already some of the pathways have opened. I have sent some of my…_pets_… through them, and they should now be assimilating the mana of the worlds connected to the paths. With enough mana I should be able to unlock the seal from within. And if that fails, there is always the 'keeper of the balance'."

Most of the ones gathered in the room shivered at the mention of the cloaked one's pets, including the female, but she shook off the feeling and voiced a question to the figure on the throne.

"The keeper? But I thought that the last keeper died a long time ago. How can we use someone who is dead?"

"The last keeper died yes, however, a new one has been chosen. This keeper is still young and impressionable, and should be easy to manipulate. I want our newest member to see to it that the keeper does what we want it to."

The figure turned its gaze toward another one of those gathered, and the subject of its gaze merely bowed in recognition of its new mission, its brown hooded cloak hiding the thoughtful expression that had appeared on the person's face, as well as the gleam in its fiery orange eyes.

"Is that all Naly'runia?" the cloaked one then asked again turning its gaze back to the woman.

Said woman, now identified as Naly'runia, merely bowed and replied with a "Yes, milord." before backing down.

Before anything else could be said, another one of the gathered stepped up to address the cloaked figure.

"I have some urgent news for you as well my lord." even though he was currently wearing a black cloak covering him entirely, his voice immediately revealed that he was a male.

Not even waiting for a reply he then continued.

"I have found evidence of one of _them_ returning." utter silence was his only reply, everyone in the chamber too shocked to speak.

"That is… disturbing…" came the voice of the cloaked figure, its voice slightly less calm this time.

"Disturbing!? This is more than that! It's a disaster… who knows what one of _them_ can do to us now that our powers are sealed?"

This came from a towering armoured figure in the back of the chamber. The armour was well-made, and was decorated with a large amount of skulls and demonic looking faces. However, a closer look at the figure revealed that there was nothing _inside_ of the armour. It was as if the armour had a life of its own.

The cloaked figure turned its gaze toward the armoured figure, then spoke to it.

"Your concern is not without reason, yet you forget that _they_ are only capable of creation, they would never be able to come for us with the intent to destroy us. It is not in their nature. That was what lead to their downfall after all, and I personally saw to it that all of them were destroyed. It is the fact that one has reappeared that disturbs me."

"We are not entirely sure that this is indeed true, but the mana-signature, while weak, is too similar for it to be a coincidence." the cloaked man responded, having remained silent during the exchange of words between the armoured figure and the figure on the throne.

"I do not believe in coincidences. As you are so concerned about this matter, I want you to make sure that it will not turn into a situation serious enough to concern me, understood?" the veiled figure's gaze had never left the armour, clearly indicating whom the order concerned.

The armour merely bowed, an impressive feat considering how bulky it looked.

"Now, assuming no one else has anything to add, I declare this meeting adjourned."

At this, all of the figures in the room bowed, then disappeared in swirls of dark energy.

Satisfied that it was alone, the veiled figure let out a chilling laugh.

"So it seems that the worlds are trying to force the balance to return. This will be quite interesting." it thought out loud, its laughter still echoing across the halls of the dark castle.

* * *

I'm finally done with this chapter!

Sorry that it took so long, but I have been rather busy lately and haven't had as much time as I'd like to write.

I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, especially not the scene at the bridge, but I hope that you like it.

I have hinted at several things in this chapter, and some of them won't reappear for a very long time. (Bonus points for those who figure out what I hinted at)

As for questions, some of you have asked if the project Yggdrasill spoke of was the Angelus Project. It is not. The Angelus Project was created by Kvar, and was intended as a present of sorts for Yggdrasill. This particular project however, is Yggdrasill's own, and he has been working on it for 3000 years, which is probably longer than Kvar has lived.

Another thing people have asked is if this will be Naruto/Presea, and I'm sorry to say that there will probably not be any pairings at all in this fic. I simply don't think that I'd be able to do the characters justice when writing something that I have no experience with.This might change in the future, but for now, there will be no pairings.

At last I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed,especially the anonymous reviewer that pointed out the error I made in the prologue. Yuan's hair is cyan, not magenta, and I have changed that part accordingly.

Please tell me what you think, did you hate it? Love it? Is there anything I can do better?

Thanks for reading!

/Andrin


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